Arsenal FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Frisbee

arsenallegend wrote: »

But thats where Chelsea play him i'm not saying he's a awful player he's Chelsea's best player look at the results when he hasn't played. I'm saying is we get bullied in midfield by top teams and we clearly need a type of player like Essien cause

It's where Chelsea play Mikel.

When Essein is fit he doesn't play as an out and out holding midfielder.

arsenallegend wrote: »

i don't think Song is up to it.

The guys been our best player this year after Fabregas.

x PyRo

arsenallegend wrote: »

i don't think Song is up to it.

:eek:

Execute him fellow minions!

Song is a machine.

arsenallegend

Frisbee wrote: »

It's where Chelsea play Mikel.

When Essein is fit he doesn't play as an out and out holding midfielder.




The guys been our best player this year after Fabregas.

Good player but he gets pushed around far too easily when we come up agasin't stronger teams
good squad player though.

Lampard and Ballack played in the more attacking midfield roles while Essien played holding midfielder and Mikel is a squad player. we won't agree on this but i agree he's a great player.

arsenallegend

x PyRo wrote: »

:eek:

Execute him fellow minions!

Song is a machine.

Chelsea and Man utd destroyed him guys
He's no Viera. Great squad player but give me Fletcher over him anyday

cson

I. Don't. Know. Where. To. Begin. :eek:

tony1kenobi

arsenallegend wrote: »

How many signings do you think we need for us to become a championship winning team?

I reckon if we bought 10 or 12 of those Barcelona lads we'd walk it.

cson

tony1kenobi wrote: »

I reckon if we bought 10 or 12 of those Barcelona lads we'd walk it.

I reckon if we bought 10 or 12 of those Inter lads we'd walk it even further.

Frisbee

arsenallegend wrote: »

Good player but he gets pushed around far too easily when we come up agasin't stronger teams
good squad player though.

Song is only a good squad player? Are you for real?

His development this year has been one of the reasons we haven't been caught out at the back so often, him and Fab have been our best players by miles this season.

arsenallegend wrote: »

Chelsea and Man utd destroyed him guys
He's no Viera. Great squad player but give me Fletcher over him anyday

Of course he's no Vieira, they're completely different styles of players.

That like Saying Fabregas is shíte because he's no Mascherano.

And yet again Song and Fletcher are entirely differnt styles of players

Fletcher - Defense minded CM with the engine to get around the park
Song - Anchorman style Defensive Mid

arsenallegend

tony1kenobi wrote: »

I reckon if we bought 10 or 12 of those Barcelona lads we'd walk it.

we have it in the bag already:p

Clearly we're not allowed to talk up are teams weakness's
thats why we got a trashing by barcelona,Man utd and chelsea and Man city.
I'm not saying Song is bad but i clearly don't think he's as good a player as Fletcher for Utd, The same for Almunia is prone to big mistakes, Gallas is another and how long must we wait for Theo to become this big star everyone wants him to be.

arsenallegend

cson wrote: »

I reckon if we bought 10 or 12 of those Inter lads we'd walk it even further.

Barcelona will overcome that:D
got a few bob on them to win so come on

tony1kenobi

Song takes care of business.

arsenallegend

So you think this Arsenal team is prefect?

That are midfield and defence was overran by UTD, Bacelona and Chelsea

Who gave away leads to West ham and Wigan when we were two goals up

We lost six times to top 6 teams twice to Utd and chelsea

Maybe this never happened and i should be happy we settled for third:rolleyes:

Frisbee

arsenallegend wrote: »

So you think this Arsenal team is prefect?

Far from it.

But saying that Song is the problem when he's been our most consistent performer this year is mind boggling.

arsenallegend

Frisbee wrote: »

Far from it.

But saying that Song is the problem when he's been our most consistent performer this year is mind boggling.

He's a fine player but for me he's never going to command the midfield like the top defensive midfielders do. Its not mind boggling when you see him up agaisn't chelsea and utd

Frisbee

arsenallegend wrote: »

He's a fine player but for me he's never going to command the midfield like the top defensive midfielders do. Its not mind boggling when you see him up agaisn't chelsea and utd

He's only 22.

Apart from Busquets I don't think there is a younger player in the top European leagues that do as good a job as him.

Your comparing him to the likes of Fletcher and Essein, both of whom are much older than him and have a lot more experience.

His position would be about the last I'd be looking for us to strengthen in the summer.

GK, CB (maybe 2 depending on Gallas) and a winger are all much more in need of strengthening.

cson

arsenallegend wrote: »

He's a fine player but for me he's never going to command the midfield like the top defensive midfielders do. Its not mind boggling when you see him up agaisn't chelsea and utd

If anyone has been poor in those games its been Cesc.

arsenallegend

cson wrote: »

If anyone has been poor in those games its been Cesc.

yep the second half of the season he's been decent at best
Van Persie 20 min cameo at Spures shows what Arsenal missed for half the season. I think he's as a important as Cesc.

arsenallegend

Sol Campbell was a good signing but i really worry tomorrow for him.

tony1kenobi

arsenallegend wrote: »

So you think this Arsenal team is prefect?

That are midfield and defence was overran by UTD, Bacelona and Chelsea

Who gave away leads to West ham and Wigan when we were two goals up

We lost six times to top 6 teams twice to Utd and chelsea

Maybe this never happened and i should be happy we settled for third:rolleyes:

I've said numerous times,based on the expert predictions last August,if you offered me that we'd be challenging for the title with 4 games left I'd have taken it.We were expected to do what Liverpool did.We've had a great season.

arsenallegend

tony1kenobi wrote: »

I've said numerous times,based on the expert predictions last August,if you offered me that we'd be challenging for the title with 4 games left I'd have taken it.We were expected to do what Liverpool did.We've had a great season.

we done well but another season without a cup isn't a great season

L'prof

Frisbee wrote: »

His development this year has been one of the reasons we haven't been caught out at the back so often, him and Fab have been our best players by miles this season.

Are you for real??? I can't agree with this at all...Flapianski??? :rolleyes::D

On a more serious note...

arsenallegend wrote: »

He's a fine player but for me he's never going to command the midfield like the top defensive midfielders do. Its not mind boggling when you see him up agaisn't chelsea and utd

And why's that??? Seriously have you not seen how much he's come on this season??? 3 months (maybe less) off during the summer, the whole of that time I spent in disbelief at the face that Wenger hadn't bought a first choice defensive midfielder to step in front of that lad who "clearly" wasn't good enough for the team, or so I (and many others) thought. January, African Nations time, comes around and I can't believe we have to do without him for a month...his improvement has been nothing short of amazing!!!

He does that this season and yet you seem to think he won't improve sufficiently? He's only 22, there's a lot of improvement in him yet!

Also, as Frisbee has already pointed out, you're comparing him to players like Fletcher and Essien who are much older. Essien is probably the best player in his position in the premier league but, Song doesn't have the same role at all, which has already been pointed out. You also mention Fletcher. If you wouldn't mind telling me, how long have you considered him a "great" player? Song is 22 and he's 26, you honestly don't think that Song can be as good as or even surpass Fletcher's abilities? I wouldn't be so sure!

Anyway, to sum up (I do admit to being slightly inebriated*)...I would be massively disappointed (and it just won't happen) if a player was brought in to play ahead of Song. I wouldn't mind a backup but, he definitely doesn't need to be replaced...especially when we have some glaring holes in other positions!

*I hope this doesn't read like a drunken rant, apologies if it does!

leninbenjamin

arsenallegend wrote: »

That are midfield and defence was overran by UTD, Bacelona and Chelsea

Just to set the record straight:

Song played CB for most of the Barca game, and tbh we were overran primarily because our attackers didn't press hard enough off the ball. And besides, Song was one of the few who came out well tbh out of that whole 30 mins (along with Almunia and Gallas imo).

United didn't over run us either. At the very least we matched them in open play, particularly in the game in old trafford, roughly the same possesion, roughly the same amount of chances (we marginally beat them on both btw over the 180 mins). Where they beat us was on the counter, they targeted the space left by our full backs brilliantly.

Chelsea the first game fairly had us, primarily because Cole was on phenomenal form and Sagna had one of his worst performances ever in an Arsenal shirt. Second game was pretty even, again they targeted our weaknesses whereas we played the same game we always do regardless of the opposition.

Anyway, careful analysis of all the games mentioned above will yield pretty much the same result: we leave too much space between our CBs and FBs for opposition sides to counter into, our defensive line ends up too flat and no one is in a position to cover if our CBs make a mistake.

gosplan

arsenallegend wrote: »

Good player but he gets pushed around far too easily when we come up agasin't stronger teams
good squad player though.

Lampard and Ballack played in the more attacking midfield roles while Essien played holding midfielder and Mikel is a squad player. we won't agree on this but i agree he's a great player.

Actually, while Essien was fit it was about 50/50 Ballack or Mikel playing with him.

Regardless, you have it wrong. Song needs a player like Essien beside him, he doesn't need to be Essien.

And BTW, you're the most negative fan I've ever come across. Cheer up a bit

Edit: A dose of realism to go with your pessimism. Just checked Guardian chalkboards there and in the first game against United, Song made one less tackle than Fletcher, made more successful passes than anyone ... and had the highest pass completion rate and made more interceptions than anyone. Squad player my arse!!!

SDTimeout

The one thing that annoyed me was RVP didn't get injured by his own muscles this time. People forgot this and we're quick to say how injury prone he is. Also LOL at someone saying we should sign Chellini...imagine his first day at the training ground

Frisbee

Re: Song - jasonorr, leninbenjamin and gosplan summed it up perfeclty there imo

I don't think there would be any hard feelings between RVP and Chiellini, it was a good tackle, he got the ball, just with a bad result for Robin.

leninbenjamin

Interview with little Theo in the Guardian URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/apr/24/theo-walcott-england-interview"]link[/URL.

"Sol [Campbell] calls me Lewis all the time . I call Sol Morpheus. You know, from The Matrix? He doesn't like it."

SDTimeout

Frisbee wrote: »

Re: Song - jasonorr, leninbenjamin and gosplan summed it up perfeclty there imo

I don't think there would be any hard feelings between RVP and Chiellini, it was a good tackle, he got the ball, just with a bad result for Robin.

Of course not, RVP is now way more mature but i still would like to see the hot streak myself.

I actually thought he was getting pretty fired up against wigan last weekend ( breif cameo ). He must start today

You at the UCD Ball frisbee..?

Frisbee

SDTimeout wrote: »

I actually thought he was getting pretty fired up against wigan last weekend ( breif cameo ). He must start today

You at the UCD Ball frisbee..?

I really hope he does start today, and imo, that's why he didn;t start against Wigan last week, to make sure he was fit.

Nope, I'm on the lash all next weekend and my exams start the Tuesday so neededd this weekend to get some study done..

SDTimeout

Few people i was on the dail na nog council with this year have it on their facebook and i thought oh he goes there.

Apparently sagna could be missing today aswell

leninbenjamin

Touré on why he left URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/7624681/Kolo-Toure-blames-Arsenal-departure-on-breakdown-in-relationship-with-William-Gallas.html"]link[/URL.

"As a player, I had great respect for Gallas because he was older than me and, in Africa, when someone is older, you have respect for them.

"But I think sometimes he took advantage of that in some ways. Me and Gallas didn't talk to each other at all. I didn't want to leave the team in a difficult position, so I was the one who said I wanted to go.

Galvasean

Frisbee wrote: »

His position would be about the last I'd be looking for us to strengthen in the summer.

I'm not sure. I know we wont find someone better than Song, but we seriously need cover in that position. When Song is out we miss him big time. Denilson/Diaby are not natural DMs while the likes of Eastmond (who I think will be very good some day) and Coquelin are not up to it yet.

Frisbee

Galvasean wrote: »

I'm not sure. I know we wont find someone better than Song, but we seriously need cover in that position. When Song is out we miss him big time. Denilson/Diaby are not natural DMs while the likes of Eastmond (who I think will be very good some day) and Coquelin are not up to it yet.

Denilson is about as good cover as we could expect imo.

It would be hard to find someone as good as Song who would be happy to spend the majority of the season on the bench.

Frisbee

Wenger on Campbell

Galvasean

Current injured list: Almunia (wrist), Arshavin, Gallas & Vermaelen (all calf), Denilson (groin), Djourou (knee), Fabregas & Ramsey (both leg), Gibbs (foot)

Plus RvP doubtful.

On the positives, Song and Eduardo back.

edit: This is ridiculous. We're missing our goalie and three centre backs. Not to mention 3 central midfielders.

That_Guy

Jay Emmanuel Thomas just scored for Doncaster.

Good little player.

SDTimeout

Wilshere assist too

Royale with Cheese

Not the performance the fans were looking for after the last 2 games. Players looked like they couldn't give a toss.

SDTimeout

Alot of them did alright....

Quite relieved i didn't go over for this game tbh..

gosplan

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

Not the performance the fans were looking for after the last 2 games. Players looked like they couldn't give a toss.

I thought the effort was pretty good and that a good few players, particularly Sagna, Clichy, Silvestre, Fabianski, Song, really worked hard.

Quality going forward in midfield is pretty poor at the moment though. Rosicky, Diaby, Walcott offer nothing these days.

OPENROAD

Have to say Sol has done more than enough to earn another year contract, would be a great squad player to have and indeed more, no reason why he couldn't play his fair share of games.

cson

WARNING LONG SPIEL WARNING

Well after viewing that Man City match just there I think I started to drift off and wonder where it all went wrong for us this season. Accordingly, it's time for my season review, possibly coming a couple of weeks after our season ended [though I still think that the pixie hole that is St Andrews was where the wheels came off this season]. Without much ado;

The Team

Goalkeepers

Manuel Almunia
Much maligned goalkeeper by us Arsenal fans and others. Quite how the gloves fell into his hands after Mad Jens left is a curious question; one I suspect even Arsene Wenger and Manuel Almunia don't even know the answer to themselves. He was relatively old, hadn't shown anything like the potential or class needed for a goalkeeper at Arsenal and he'd done precisely nothing in his career previously. In any event; this season has shown us that he is just not good enough. Doesn't command his area, makes erratic decisions and inspires zero confidence at the back. He is far too error prone [St Andrews/Spurs Rose Goal/Rooney Penalty at OT/Ibra's 1st Goal] and should not be our number one. The priority area we have to strengthen in. Shay is not without his faults but for £5m we should have taken a punt. 3/10 - Gone

Lukasz Fabianski
Without a doubt should be on his way out the door this summer. He's 25 years old now and had 3 years with us and has shown absolutely nothing that's even close to some talent. To me he's a poor man's Almunia. Decent stopper, shit at every other aspect. He's had his chances, he has no excuses, he should be on his merry way off this season. We have better prospects to wear the number 2 jersey and he'll only impede them the longer he stays. 1/10 Gone

Vito Mannone
Massive man of the match performance versus Fulham the highlight for him where whilst playing decently still showed naivety and immaturity at times. Witness the first goal we conceded against Blackburn as evidence. He looks to have potential; he's a better prospect than Fabianski; he's only 22. He gets 2 more seasons to show he progress and threaten the number one shirt.
5/10 - Keep

Defence

Gael Clichy
His form has slipped from 2 seasons ago when he was the best left full back in the Premiership. He's recovered a bit this season and has been solid throughout with one or two errors I put down to the performance of the back four as a whole and especially the goalkeeper. It's hard to believe he's still only 24. Definitely in the top 4 left fulls in the Premiership though he can still improve and get to a consistent level such as Cole and Evra regularly hit. Would not change him for anything; if he learns to be a bit more vocal on the pitch he's a future Arsenal captain for me. 7/10 Excellent

William Gallas
He's formed a decent Centre Half pairing with Vermaelen though you'd never be 100 per cent confident of them. They just aren't the shut out merchants that Vidic and Ferdinand were in 08-09; you'd still fancy to score against them. Why have I gone off on this tangent? Well it simply means one of them has to go. And for me that's Gallas. He's 33 in August and he's becoming far too injury prone to have as a first choice centre half. Maybe I'm being harsh but I think this is what's needed. He's not a leader; he doesn't seem to create unity [witness Toure's story] and I don't think he'd be content as a back up which I'd be happy for him to be. He's had a good season in patches but that's what its been - patches. We need someone who stays relatively fit from August to May. 7/10 - Gone

Thomas Vermaelen
Good signing. Whilst most people will have him as one of the best players of the season, it's his goals that are earning him that. As a defender his primary objective is to defend and he's gone about that well this season but those marauding runs have and will cost us. He still displays a little immaturity in his defending at times but with an experienced presence beside him he'd excel. I'd absolutely love if Sol was 4 years younger because he'd be the perfect foil for him. One to build the team upon and another prospective leader for us - he needs to impose himself on the team from next season on.
8/10 - Excellent

Bacary Sagna
He's come in for some flak this season [from me included] but he's a solid player who's had a decent season. Perhaps needs to concentrate a little bit more on his defending at times - he should have been doing better against Ashley Cole's crosses when Chelsea beat us but again he's amongst the top 4 right backs playing in the league and there aren't any available that are better than him. 7/10 - Excellent

Midfield

Alex Song
A revelation. He has really come into his own this season and nailed down what was previously a problem position for us. He's still got a lot to learn about the position and could do with watching a few Makelele video's but at only 22[!] he can only improve and is another player to build the team around. Needs to be a little smarter at times [he's picked up 13 yellows] but a definite positive for us who's had a fantastic season overall. 9/10 - Fantastic

Cesc Fabregas
What can you say about him? The heartbeat of the club and central to our future ambitions. It's vital he stays with us and see's the next 2-3 seasons through. He owes it to himself and the club to guide this team to maturity
and give it another 2 years. If we remain trophyless then I will wish him nothing but the best should he go to Barcelona. On his season; excellent whilst flattering to decieve in the big matches. I'm of the mind he needs someone beside him [like Nasri] in order to flourish but he does need to start impsoing himself on the big games. It's alright putting Aston Villa away but he needs to make his mark versus Chelsea and Man Utd too. He also needs to try and stay fit; the last two seasons he's missed chunks of and we can't afford that. 8/10 - Excellent

Samir Nasri
Started off a bit patchy when he came back from injury but really grew into the season and was one of our better players this season. He's a really skilful creative player but he has a bit of bite too. He plays like he cares or at least thats the impression I get off him. Needs to improve when he doesn't have the ball; his tracking back has exposed the full back at times but in my ideal world he wouldn't be played on the wing [as he naturally cuts inside if you watch him] he's a centre midfielder who imo would revel playing along side Cesc. Again he's only 22 so he will improve for this season but I'll be expecting big things from him next season. 8/10 - Excellent

Tomas Rosicky
Sadly injury has taken it's toll on Rosicky. He's a shadow of the player he was; doesn't have the same creative impetus and menace and is playing in a position where we have plenty of options. He's had an ineffectual season; playing in snatches and generally playing poorly with no ideas. The Man City Carling Cup match stood out for me where he was absolutely the worst player on the pitch that night. He's nearing 30 and he doesn't offer us anymore than back up anymore. I'd keep him for that, but that's it. Should not be anywhere near the first 11. 4/10 Keep

Theo Walcott
Quite simply the most frustrating player to pull on an Arsenal jersey for quite some time. For every dazzling match he has he'll have 5 where he is abjectly and positively ****e, running down blind alleys and offering nothing. He's been poor this season; Wenger doesn't seem to have much confidence in him and he doesn't seem to have much confidence in himself. However; I'm not prepared to give up on him yet. He does have potential to be good and become a first 11 player for us. He has raw pace with no end product. It can be fixed. He can improve. He's 21 still. He gets one more season to show us something that's worth perserving with and by that I mean something consistent. Something like 10 goals. Something like 10 assists. Something like beating his man and finding a pass. 6/10 Keep

Andrei Arshavin
I'm unconvinced by him. His head seems elsewhere at times and the fact he 'hobbled' off and then jogged down the tunnel against Barcelona in the Champions League Semi-Finals was quite shocking. If he cannot get himself motivated by an occasion like that, what business has he playing for us? He should be a huge player for us. But he's not. He's lazy, his decision making is poor, he hasn't shown nearly enough brilliance for him to be worth £15m. So far I think we've overpaid for a player who doesn't seem to have Arsenal in his head and who has far too many off days to be considered one of our top players. Jury is still out. 6/10 Keep

Abou Diaby
Frustratingly inconsistent. I just do not like this guy or his attitude one bit. For every flash of brilliance he's shown so far this season he'll have 5 games where he meanders through them lazily, offering no creativity and generally being lethargic and useless. What I've noticed is this happens in matches where we're missing players and he should be stepping up to the plate. He doesn't, he just ****s himself, takes no responsibility and cowards around the park. Excellent when he's playing alongside better players when he has no responsibility but when he's asked to lead we may as well bury him in the middle of the pitch for all his use. He gets one more season to get his head right and show something like the consistency needed to play for a club like Arsenal. Back up player under pressure. 5/10 Keep

Denilson
This is the type of player Giles & co allude to when banging on about honesty of effort. Decent season, never going to set the world alight but does a job. Shouldn't be starting for us but he offers good cover for Song imo. More or a sweeper in the Guardiola mould than the DM hustle and bustle of Song but he's done a job when asked and its unfair to disregard him because he hasn't stepped up to it in big matches this season. He's limited and does a good job for us within those limits. 6/10 Good

Aaron Ramsey
The heir to Fabregas. Extremely unlucky with his injury and I will say no more on that other than these are happening too frequently to us. It's one thing going in to 'rough us up', it's quite another thing to be breaking legs. I have my fingers crossed he comes back as good as ever beacuse he really was on a big upward curve this season. Played really well, was scoring goals and maturing. One for the future, one to groom with a view to replacing Cesc and one I hope will excel and stay at Arsenal for some time to come. 8/10 Excellent

Emmauel Eboue
Gets stick from certain sections, but he was excellent overall this season. Really ran and took on players and beat them a lot of the time. He seems to be graduating into a winger from a right full and I'd welcome this. He's lacking in end product and makes some poor decisions at times but he's a good squad player for us and I hope he stays. He's popular in the dressing room and I think he can be a good player for us should he keep his head in it and improve in certain aspects. He can become our Park ideally. 7/10 Good

Strikers

Robin Van Persie
Sublime. Justifiably up there in the Drogba/Rooney/Torres echelons and the only thing holding him back is his fitness. He's immensely skillful and had a powerful first half to the season before injury. Really created som space for others. Not the typical front man but it was a role he was growing into. We really need to mind him and keep him fit because he's a massive player for us. It's the only thing holding him back. I may be reactionary in saying this but if he misses a huge part of next season again then we need to start looking to someone to replace him. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen. 8/10 Excellent

Eduardo
As with Rosicky, he hasn't been the same since the injury. He's lost his poacher instincts and frequently ponders around outside the box. He's been very poor this season and hasn't been a threat for us at all. It's time for him to move on, seek a fresh challenge and try and rebuild his career away from England. For us he's finished. 3/10 Gone

Nicklas Bendtner
He's getting better. For all the chosen ones posturing he is actually maturing into a decent striker and gives us another option. Shouldn't be starting for us just yet but he's getting there so long as his ego doens't completely take hold of him. He's stood in well this season, missed some chances but away some vital ones that otherwise would have seen us battling for 4th with the rest [Wolves, Hull for example]. He's a really good back up player who at 22 can get better.

Carlos Vela
This guy has fallen off the radar completely. After tearing it up in Spain he's flattered to decieve for us and I wonder if his head is in it anymore? He gets one more season to take any chances he gets otherwise he can go. Really needs to up his game. I'd rather Wenger tried him as a winger rather than a striker; he's too slight imo to be a frontman. 4/10 Poor

Rest of Squad
Djourou missed the season but he isn't the solution to our defensive problems. He's a prospect but nothing more. Still raw, but worth keeping on the books. Out of the two young left fulls; Kieren Gibbs has huge potential and rates ahead of Traore who has failed to shine in his first team games this season [big ask, but was really poor vs Chelsea irrc]. Eastmond, Coquelin and Wilshere got a few starts but I can't help feeling a season in the Championship would help them mature a bit more. They need more experience and aren't quite the back up players we need just yet. Merida is pretty overrated from what I've seen and looks like he'd rather he was in Spain. It'll be interesting to see after signing a new contract whether he puts the head down and tries to break into the squad proper. Silvestre hasn't been as poor as people make out but he's still not good enough for us. He should be gone this season. Sol Campbell has been fantastic since he came back and I hope he stays on in some capacity. A real leader and he still has it when used sparingly - watch him chase down Rodellega last week.

Manager
Arsene Wenger will go down as the greatest manager in Arsenals history. He's elevated us to one of the top 4 clubs on a modest budget, orchestrated our move to the Emirates and kept us competitive and won us trophies. It's been a while since we've won though. In the grand scheme of things we shouldn't expect to be winning - we're simply not as big as either Manchester club, Chelsea, Barcelona etc in terms on financial backing.

This season has been a curious one for AW. He'll consider it a success of sorts and whilst his youth policy is paying dividends in some respects, his negligence in marrying it to experience in some areas, and neglect of areas where we clearly need quality players [GK] is a major flaw for him. He's failed tactically on occasion versus Barcelona and against the two clubs above us.

I think next season needs to yield a trophy. Anything. Or else he'll leave of his own volition. He surely can see the need that the team needs strengthening in certain glaring areas and hopefully he'll rectify this in the summer. 7/10 Good

Points to Note
> The full backs need more cover when we're defending. Those in front of them tend to tuck in which leaves Clichy and Sagna exposed when opposing full backs overlap. We've conceded due to this a number of times and it's something that's easily fixed.

> Again on the full backs; Gael and Bac are good going forward but their crossing is the wrong type for us. They float in hanging balls which with our stature of attacker is not good. Pacier deliveries would yield more goals imo.

> Song needs to hang back in the centre circle more when we're attacking. He'll be able to read the play better and break it up when required. He'll hopefully get this as he matures that it's easier to be a DM fronting an a counter attack than chasing one.

> We've never adequately replaced Bobby or Freddie. Both were wingers. Or at least stayed out and attacked from the left and right respectively. This is a crucial area for us imo. We need someone who doesn't cut inside; who can get to the byline and cut it back. We need a winger at the least, 2 in an ideal scenario. I would love to have a Ribery/Robben type at Arsenal.

> Tactics. I'm of the opinion we'd excel if we had the two wingers outlined above with Fabregas and Nasri playing in the middle, RVP up front and Song in DM with a new GK and our back 4. A 4-1-2-2-1. I'd love a dynamic system like that.

> AW needs someone to challenge him. That is not Pat Rice. We need an assistant to put it up to him. I'd actually love to see someone like Houllier as a number two to him and I know I'll get stick for that.

> Priority buys; GK, CB, LM, RM. I think we should chance some proven Premiership players too; Rob Green for GK for eg - he can't be any worse than Almunia.

> We should have an Arsenal Boards Beers sometime!

Anyway, that's a long spiel so thanks to those who read it and opinions welcome!

Sútalún

Very well put mate, I'd agree with almost everything you've said. I'm not going to go through everything because there's a lot! One thing I will say though is that I agree 100% with the Pat Rice comment. I think none of us will argue that Pat's a great guy, and has been fantastic for the club over the years. But, rather than completely getting rid of him, I feel a backroom mix-up is certainly required. PR relagated to a coaching role with someone else brought in as assistant. As you say, someone to "challenge" Wenger.

Although, in saying that, can't see it happening at all!

leninbenjamin

cson wrote: »

> AW needs someone to challenge him. That is not Pat Rice. We need an assistant to put it up to him. I'd actually love to see someone like Houllier as a number two to him and I know I'll get stick for that.

Totally agree... well maybe not with Houllier (a bit too conservative and French tbh) but definitely a back room shake up is probably something that needs to happen. If you look at United's recent history, their most successful periods seem to occur when a new assistant is brought in (Kidd for the double double, McClaren for the treble, Quirioz for regaining the league off Chelsea and then Phelan came in just as the Champions league was won again).

Not too mention I think the physios need improving, don't have figures to verify this, but I'm under the impression the number of injuries has shot up in recent years, around the time Gary Lewin left us oddly enough. Maybe it's unrealistic but I didn't like Colin Lewin rather blasé attitude towards the number of muscle injuries at the club, we need to be doing more to keep our best players fit for the run in.

cson

That's actually something that I had in mind in that big post but forgot; the physio team need to have a big look at why the club gets so many calf strains and the like ruling big players out consistently over the last few years. It isn't bad luck at this stage and we really need to do something about it - be it having them in the gym doing strength work, better warm downs/warm ups. Something needs to be done.

arsenallegend

Varmelan gets less then Song are you mad:eek:
Song was good but i don't get the love you guys heap on him
he's seriously isn't as good as you have him down as.

Pepe LeFrits

I actually agree with arsenallegend for once; Song is overrated on this board. He's had a very good season but better than Cesc? Come on.

I don't really understand why Pat Rice gets singled out either - any evidence to suggest he isn't doing a good job? Everything I've seen suggests he is anything but a yes man.

SDTimeout

If we're talking dream formations

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1

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2---3---4---5

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6

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-7---8----9

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10

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11

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1 - New Goalkeeper / Fabianski ( i like him, i do think he can be a top keeper )
2- Sagna + New RB Cover ( I'm of the opinion of sell eboué )
3- New CB ( Gallas / Sol Cover )
4 - Verm ( Djorou / Silvestre Cover)
5 - Clichy ( Gibbs)
6 - Song ( Denilson, Eastmond, Coquellin )
7- Nasri ( Rosicky, Diaby Cover)
8 - Cesc ( Ramsey, Cover )
9 - Arshavin ( Walcott cover * )
10 - RVP ( Wilshere, Eduardo Cover)
11 - Chamakh ( Bendtner, Vela, JET ? Cover )

We would play a sort of diamond midfield. Assuming we don't turn nasri and walcott / arsh into out and out wingers and less of the cut in stuff ( i'm a fan of this route, but thats due to how poor our crossing has been this season. I would love another le bob / freddie like partner ship who could do both ). Song is sitting pretty at number 6 and needs to relax more.

Now with Verm we need an older defender to just keep him relaxed, i know it's an awful example but i played junior hockey 3rd and 4th year when i was in second year. ****ting it completley but the captain was a defender as well. Kept reassuring me kept me in place and it works. How cliché i know but someone who is not afraid to bark at verm and just keep him in check would be perfect and mould him i also agree with the opinion of verm clichy and imo RVP are potential captains.

On the point of RVP i think he should play behind chamakh next year, assuming chamakh isn't good in this role himself. Take RVP yesterday dropped well was out on both flanks and was releasing very good balls behind the defence. My ideal proposal is put money into cloning RVP so he could set himself up but RVP feeding in Chamakh next season will do me instead.

This brings me finally onto 7 and 9 ( I think the most tightly contested position next season would be walcott/ arshavin ). Our attack needs to be diverse because next season we will have height upfront barring a major accident ( Bendtner, RVP, Chamakh ) So crossing needs to be a priority and then the cuts in can work for inter play around the box too.

Finally, i want nothing more than to see this arsenal side play a sexy 4-3-3 like early in the season. Let's teach these players how to do that

cson

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

I actually agree with arsenallegend for once; Song is overrated on this board. He's had a very good season but better than Cesc? Come on.

I don't really understand why Pat Rice gets singled out either - any evidence to suggest he isn't doing a good job? Everything I've seen suggests he is anything but a yes man.

Song got a highly rated season from me because of where he'd come from. A bit part player who no one can honestly say they had great hopes for this season to one of the first names on the teamsheet.

The backroom team could do with a shakeup simply because they've been together too long. Fresh impetus could do wonders for the team.

gosplan

cson wrote: »

Song got a highly rated season from me because of where he'd come from. A bit part player who no one can honestly say they had great hopes for this season to one of the first names on the teamsheet

Yes. At this point last season everyone was calling out for a DMF the same way we are now calling out for a Goalkeeper. Song stepped up and filled that gap and deserves great praise for that.

As regards who gives him what out of ten, well that's entirely subjective, but when everyone's fit, he's still one of our most important players.

Pepe LeFrits

Well, getting a higher rating out of 10 to me suggests that you think he had a better season than Cesc.

Also, don't agree with shipping out both Almunia and Fabianski. A new first choice keeper is certainly needed but Mannone as 2nd choice is just an accident waiting to happen.